page_title: Lepidium
section_title: Diversity
hierarchical_section_title: Lepidium / Diversity
caption_attribution_description: Lepidium lasiocarpum var. lasiocarpum in Calico Basin, west of Las Vegas, Nevada
context_page_description: Lepidium is a genus of plants in the mustard/cabbage family, Brassicaceae. The genus is widely distributed in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia. It includes familiar species such as garden cress, maca, and dittander. General common names include peppercress, peppergrass, and pepperwort. Some species form tumbleweeds.
  The genus name Lepidium is a Greek word meaning 'small scale', which is thought to be derived from a folk medicine usage of the plant to treat leprosy, which cause small scales on the skin. Another meaning is related to the small scale-like fruit.
context_section_description: There are about 175 to 220 species in the genus. 10 species are found in California.
  Species include:
  Lepidium africanum
  Lepidium amelum
  Lepidium armoracia Fisch. & C.A. Mey. 1843
  Lepidium apetalum Willd. – du xing cai (Pinyin, China)
  Lepidium arbuscula
  Lepidium banksii
  Lepidium barnebyanum
  Lepidium biplicatum
  Lepidium bonariense – peppercress
  Lepidium campestre – field pepperwort, field cress
  Lepidium catapycnon
  Lepidium coronopus – swine cress
  Lepidium davisii – Davis' peppergrass
  Lepidium densiflorum – common pepperweed
  Lepidium desvauxii – bushy peppercress
  Lepidium dictyotum
  Lepidium didymum
  Lepidium draba – hoary cress
  Lepidium drummondii
  Lepidium echinatum
  Lepidium ecuadoriense
  Lepidium englerianum
  Lepidium fasciculatum – bundled peppercress
  Lepidium flavum
  Lepidium flexicaule
  Lepidium foliosum – leafy peppercress
  Lepidium fremontii – desert pepperweed
  Lepidium genistoides
  Lepidium ginninderrense
  Lepidium graminifolium
  Lepidium howei-insulae – mustard & cress
  Lepidium hypenantion
  Lepidium hyssopifolium
  Lepidium heterophyllum – Smith's pepperwort, Smith's cress
  Lepidium jaredii – Jared's pepperweed
  Lepidium lasiocarpum
  Lepidium latifolium – pepperweed, dittander
  Lepidium latipes
  Lepidium lyratogynum
  Lepidium merrallii
  Lepidium meyenii (syn. L. peruvianum) – maca
  Lepidium monoplocoides – winged peppercress
  Lepidium montanum – western pepperweed, mountain pepperweed
  Lepidium nanum – dwarf pepperweed
  Lepidium nesophilum
  Lepidium nitidum – shining pepperweed
  Lepidium oblongum
  Lepidium oleraceum
  Lepidium oxycarpum – forked pepperweed
  Lepidium oxytrichum
  Lepidium papilliferum – slickspot peppergrass
  Lepidium papillosum – warty peppercress
  Lepidium pedicellosum
  Lepidium peregrinum
  Lepidium perfoliatum
  Lepidium peruvianum
  Lepidium phlebopetalum
  Lepidium pholidogynum
  Lepidium pinnatifidum
  Lepidium platypetalum – slender peppercress
  Lepidium pseudohyssopifolium
  Lepidium pseudoruderale
  Lepidium pseudotasmanicum
  Lepidium puberulum
  Lepidium quitense
  Lepidium rotundum – veined peppercress
  Lepidium ruderale – narrow-leaved pepperwort
  Lepidium oleraceum –  Cook's scurvy grass (near extinct)
  Lepidium sagittulatum
  Lepidium sativum – garden cress
  Lepidium scandens
  Lepidium squamatum
  Lepidium strictum
  Lepidium thurberi – Thurber's peppergrass, Thurber's pepperweed
  Lepidium virginicum – Virginia peppercress
  Lepidium xylodes
caption: Lepidium lasiocarpum var. lasiocarpum
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